Addressing risks in green residential building construction projects: the case of Singapore

Abstract

Over the past decade, an increasing number of green residential buildings have been developed worldwide owing to active promotion from the authorities and the increasing interest from customers. However, in the same way as traditional residential buildings, the construction of green residential buildings has been facing various risks. The aims of this study are to identify and assess the diverse risks in green residential building construction projects, compare their risk criticalities with those in traditional counterparts, and propose helpful risk mitigation measures. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive literature review was conducted first, and then a questionnaire was administered to 30 construction companies in Singapore. The analysis results showed that “complex procedures to obtain approvals”, “overlooked high initial cost”, “unclear requirements of owners”, “employment constraint”, and “lack of availability of green materials and equipment” were the top five critical risks in green residential building construction projects. It also reported that green residential building projects were facing risks at a more critical level than those traditional residential building projects. Furthermore, this study proposed fourteen risk mitigation measures that can effectively tackle the risks in green residential building construction projects. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying and evaluating the critical risks and the responding mitigation measures in green residential building construction projects. The findings from this study can also provide practitioners with an in-depth understanding of risk management in green residential building construction projects, and thereby benefiting the industry.